2017 Pennsylvania elections

Pennsylvania held statewide elections on November 7, 2017 to fill judicial positions on the Supreme Court, Superior Court, Commonwealth Court, allow judicial retention votes, and fill numerous county, local and municipal offices. The necessary primary elections were held in May 2017.

Special Elections[]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives[]

133rd legislative district[]

A special election for the 133rd legislative district took place on December 5 after the death of Democratic State Representative Daniel McNeill.^[1]

Democrats selected McNeill's wife Jeanne McNeill as their nominee.^[2] Republicans nominated David Molony, and Libertarians nominated Samantha Dorney.^[3]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 133 special election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jeanne McNeill	2,302	67.43
	Republican	David Molony	992	29.06
	Libertarian	Samantha Dorney	120	3.51
Total votes			3,414	100.00
	Democratic hold

197th legislative district[]

Democratic State Representative Leslie Acosta was re-elected during the 2016 elections, but later resigned after pleading guilty to charges of embezzlement.^[4] A special election for the 197th legislative district took place on March 21.

Republicans nominated Lucinda Little for the seat. Democrats originally nominated health clinic administrator Frederick Ramirez, but a Commonwealth Court ruling declared Ramirez did not reside in the district and removed him from the ballot.^[5] Democrats attempted to replace Ramirez with Philadelphia Parking Authority auditor Emilio Vazquez, but the Court ruled (and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania confirmed) that the filing deadline had passed, preventing the substitution.^[6] Vazquez subsequently ran a write-in campaign, along with Green Party candidate Cheri Honkala.^[7]

After the special election, four elections officers would be charged with interference after allegations of duress and voter intimidation were alleged.^[8]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 197 special election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Emilio Vazquez (write-in)	1,972	73.20
	Green	Cheri Honkala (write-in)	286	10.62
		scattered write-ins	235	8.72
	Republican	Lucinda Little	201	7.46
Total votes			2,694	100.00
	Democratic hold

Justice of the Supreme Court[]

One vacancy occurred after Justice J. Michael Eakin left the court in 2016.

Primary[]

Republican Superior Court judge Sallie Updyke Mundy was appointed by Governor Tom Wolf to the seat vacated by Justice Eakin and confirmed on June 27, 2016.^[9] She ran for a full 10-year term in 2017 and was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas judge and former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Dwayne Woodruff ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

General election[]

Justice of the Supreme Court, 2017^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sallie Updyke Mundy (inc.)	1,090,485	52.28
	Democratic	Dwayne Woodruff	995,540	47.72
Total votes			2,086,025	100.00
	Republican hold

Judge of the Superior Court[]

4 vacancies

Primary election[]

Judge of the Superior Court, 2017 Democratic primary^[10]
*Vote for 4*
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maria McLaughlin	460,250	23.30
	Democratic	Carolyn Nichols	448,675	22.72
	Democratic	Deborah Kunselman	432,937	21.92
	Democratic	Geoffrey Moulton Jr.	361,547	18.31
	Democratic	William Caye II	271,533	13.75
Total votes			1,974,942	100.00

Judge of the Superior Court, 2017 Republican primary^[10]
*Vote for 4*
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Craig Stedman	380,027	24.66
	Republican	Emil Giordano	320,394	20.79
	Republican	Wade Kagarise	317,511	20.61
	Republican	Mary Murray	295,138	19.15
	Republican	Paula Patrick	227,751	14.78
Total votes			1,540,821	100.00

General election[]

Judge of the Superior Court, 2017 general election^[10]
*Vote for 4*
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maria McLaughlin	1,078,522	14.09
	Democratic	Deborah Kunselman	1,041,965	13.61
	Democratic	Carolyn Nichols	978,842	12.79
	Republican	Mary Murray	918,705	12.00
	Republican	Craig Stedman	914,284	11.95
	Democratic	Geoffrey Moulton Jr.	892,646	11.66
	Republican	Emil Giordano	885,996	11.58
	Republican	Wade Kagarise	835,647	10.92
	Green	Jules Mermelstein	106,969	1.40
Total votes			7,653,576	100.00

Judge of the Commonwealth Court[]

2 vacancies

Primary election[]

Judge of the Commonwealth Court, 2017 Democratic primary^[10]
*Vote for 2*
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ellen Ceisler	280,209	24.28
	Democratic	Irene Clark	237,287	20.56
	Democratic	Walter Barry	215,904	18.71
	Democratic	Todd Eagen	180,654	15.65
	Democratic	Joseph Cosgrove	169,869	14.72
	Democratic	Bryan Barbin	70,201	6.08
Total votes			1,154,124	100.00

Judge of the Commonwealth Court, 2017 Republican primary^[10]
*Vote for 2*
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Lalley	400,090	53.57
	Republican	Christine Fizzano Cannon	346,755	46.43
Total votes			746,845	100.00

General election[]

Judge of the Commonwealth Court, 2017 general election^[10]
*Vote for 2*
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Christine Fizzano Cannon	994,163	25.81
	Democratic	Ellen Ceisler	988,295	25.65
	Democratic	Irene Clark	958,384	24.88
	Republican	Paul Lalley	911,418	23.66
Total votes			3,852,260	100.00

Judicial Retention[]

Justice of the Supreme Court[]

Justice Thomas G. Saylor Retention, 2017
Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,074,905	68.25
No	500,162	31.75
Total votes	1,575,067	100.00
Source: PA Department of State

Justice Debra Todd Retention, 2017
Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,121,007	70.83
No	461,751	29.17
Total votes	1,582,758	100.00
Source: PA Department of State

Judge of the Superior Court[]

Judge Jacqueline Shogan Retention, 2017
Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,073,774	69.31
No	475,429	30.69
Total votes	1,549,203	100.00
Source: PA Department of State

Mayoral Elections[]

Pittsburgh[]

Lancaster[]

Allentown[]

Harrisburg[]

Ballot Questions[]

Proposed Constitutional Amendment Amending the Homestead Property Tax Assessment Exclusion
Choice	Votes	%
Yes	963,324	53.99
No	821,002	46.01
Total votes	1,784,326	100.00
Source: PA Department of State

References[]

^ Engelkemier, Paul (2017-09-18). "Turzai Sets Date for Special Election to Replace McNeill". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on 2017-09-22. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
^ Engelkemier, Paul (2017-10-03). "Pa. Dems Announce Candidate for 133rd House District Special Election". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on 2017-10-09. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
^ Engelkemier, Paul (2017-12-06). "McNeill Wins Husband's Seat in Special Election". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on 2017-12-16. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
^ Sasko, Claire (2016-12-09). "Convicted State Rep. Leslie Acosta to Resign". Philadelphia Magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
^ Scolforo, Mark (2017-02-24). "Too few flushes get legislative candidate thrown off ballot". Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-01-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ Engelkemier, Paul (2017-03-13). "HD-197: Supreme Court Keeps Democratic Candidate Off the Ballot". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
^ Brennan, Chris (2017-03-03). "North Philly feud costs Democrats a shot at a state House seat". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2019-07-22. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
^ Engelkemier, Paul (2017-10-30). "Four Charged With Interference in the 197th House District Special Election". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
^ Mendicino, Anthony (June 28, 2016). "Sallie Updyke Mundy appointed to Pennsylvania Supreme Court". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "2017 Pennsylvania Elections - Summary Results". Pennsylvania Department of State. 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2021-01-02.

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[1] Engelkemier, Paul (2017-09-18). "Turzai Sets Date for Special Election to Replace McNeill". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on 2017-09-22. Retrieved 2021-01-15.

[2] Engelkemier, Paul (2017-10-03). "Pa. Dems Announce Candidate for 133rd House District Special Election". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on 2017-10-09. Retrieved 2021-01-15.

[3] Engelkemier, Paul (2017-12-06). "McNeill Wins Husband's Seat in Special Election". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on 2017-12-16. Retrieved 2021-01-15.

[4] Sasko, Claire (2016-12-09). "Convicted State Rep. Leslie Acosta to Resign". Philadelphia Magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2021-01-14.

[5] Scolforo, Mark (2017-02-24). "Too few flushes get legislative candidate thrown off ballot". Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-01-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[6] Engelkemier, Paul (2017-03-13). "HD-197: Supreme Court Keeps Democratic Candidate Off the Ballot". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2021-01-15.

[7] Brennan, Chris (2017-03-03). "North Philly feud costs Democrats a shot at a state House seat". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2019-07-22. Retrieved 2021-01-15.

[8] Engelkemier, Paul (2017-10-30). "Four Charged With Interference in the 197th House District Special Election". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2021-01-15.

[9] Mendicino, Anthony (June 28, 2016). "Sallie Updyke Mundy appointed to Pennsylvania Supreme Court". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 22, 2016.

[2017results-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "2017 Pennsylvania Elections - Summary Results". Pennsylvania Department of State. 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2021-01-02.

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